Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The food was good  entertainment was lacking   Rooms with balcony small as well as the balcony  parties the had were not good  too crowded  too much up and down to get to things not easy too get too different parts of the ship. Don't eat at o o'sheehan's not Irish at all smoking is allowed so it killed the casino as well as the pool area people next to our cabin smoked in their balcony 

This has been by far the worst cruise ever went on in my whole entire life their staff were rude the boat was nice but not worth my money for how we were treated.

I will never ever ever Cruise Norwegian again

I found the service to be slow and impersonal throughout the ship, and when I said something to the head waiter at dinner Alli got was a waitress with an attitude and worse service. The ship seems understaffed for the peo on board and the service suffers. The seats in the theatre are horrible and most of the acts throughout the ship are second rate at best the circus and rock of ages were great but the seating in the theatre made it hard to get thru rock. We have been on the Gem before it's a much nicer ship and staff experience and everyone we meet said the same thing  we had fun at the Bahamas but overall very disappointed in the Breakaway

The staff were great, the drinks are perfect and the passengers are a blast.

As for the Ship itself and the coordinators its very poor. Not very well organised, embarking and disembarking were a mess. There was no live music on deck to engage the passengers into a party and fun mood. Most of the passengers I encountered that are prior cruisers were wandering around the ship with nothing to do and bored out of their minds. 

Service and friendliness of staff on board Breakaway was fantastic.  The ship was clean and decorated beautifully for Christmas.  This was my husband's and my Christmas present to each other and we treated ourselves to a stay in the Haven - the Spa Balcony cabin.  The cabin was roomy, bathroom was the nicest I have ever seen on a cruise ship, and we had everything we needed.  Butler and concierge service was top-notch.  The Haven dining room was just as good as any of the specialty restaurants.  All in all, a very Merry Christmas present to ourselves!

     Dinner not in specialty restaurants was poor: waiter called me "Daddy" and my wife "Mommy", another said to my wife " I hope he was better looking when he was younger.", 1/2 the time coffee was undrinkable (like mud), offered sour cream for baked potato after the main course was completed, steak knife offered to me backwards, and many other inexcusable mistakes. Did the waiters have any training? Specialty restaurants had decent food and better waiters.

     Entertainment was also just OK with Dueling Pianos singers barely able to sing while Big Daddy blues group was good but repetitive.

    Ship was plain, onboard shops were limited and uninspiring unlike the Royal Caribbean fleet or even the MSC Divina.

    TV was awful. One sports channel consisted of soccer. Pro football is only shown in bars with soccer filling the rest of the time. No other sports. One movie and one tv show channel with a very small variety.

    Dinner reservations for 3 couples just disappeared. A woman at the "Savor" reception desk entered them on a PC by hand from our customer copy. We had to eat an hour late. One of many examples of a disorganized operation.

    Last time on Norwegian cruise lines...

Not enough room to get past the bed , the distance to the wall was 18 inches.

Bar on the end of the seats in the theater hit your tail bone and was uncomfortable to seat.

Seats in theater had narrow cup holders, not wide enough for a glass of wine.Change the glasses they use in the theater.

Not enough seats in the atrium where a lot of the entertainment was scheduled.

On a cold day at sea. not enough seats around the ship to hang out except in your room.

Food was very good. Service was excellent and ship very clean.

CABIN LOCATION  AND EXITING AND ENTERING THE SHIP. CABIN LAYOUT WAS NOT GOOD. BED BUTTED UP TO CLOSET. BALCONIES WERE SMALL

AND THERE WERE NO DRAWERS ONLY SHELVES.SERVING TIME IN RESTAURANTS WERE LONG AND GARDEN  BUFFET AREA WAS ON LONG STRAIGHT SERVING COUNTER WITH PASSENGERS BUMPING INTO EACH OTHER. SPA AREA WAS LOVELY BUT EXPENSIVE, AS ALWAYS. DEBARKATION WAS EASY UNTIL ONE TRIED TO FIND THEIR LUGGAGE IN A SEA OF THOUSANDS OF SUITCASES WIDELY DISPERSED AND AFTER WAITING IN LONG LINES AND GREAT DISTANCE TO YOUR DESIGNATED COLOR AREA. FIRST AND LAST TIME ON A BIG SHIP. I'LL STICK WITH THE SMALLER ONES.

NCL the best cruise line!!  We had a blast on our 14 night Caribbean cruise.  All the ports were great.  Had beautiful weather.  NCL caters to all your needs and then some. Daryl from cheap cruises. Thank you.  Can't wAit until August then December then January for our next cruises

This was the dirtiest cruise ship I have been on, and I have been on many.  Stains on my cabin carpet and couch, the common area bathrooms were filthy by 6PM and NOT checked during the evening.  I had to ask for clean glasses. 

The service in the main dining rooms was consistently inconsistent.  Staff was willing but VERY untrained.  Dirty plates were passed in front of my face, wrong entrees were served on a regular basis.  Knives were handed blade first.  Tea in a pot was served with a saucer for a lid"could not find a lid".  Servers were unfamiliar with the menu.  The charges for soda etc. were inconsistent- some were free others not. The casino and the deck above and below reeked of cigarette smoke as smoking was allowed in the open.  If you have allergies or asthma do not do this ship- there is no escaping the smoke odor- it was present from the time we got on the ship and. . the casino was closed.  Breathing in these areas was difficult and became a problem for all in our group-even those with no respiratory issues.

As a previously avid fan of NCL, I have become more disillusioned with them with each cruise I take.  This one was no exception.  While I did enjoy the itinerary, pretty much everything else was much less than stellar.  The food quality and quantity has slipped terribly.  And this listing "Optional" outrageously priced items on the menu is a disgrace.  And now charging for room service?  What's next except for coin operated toilets.  You guys are going in the WRONG DIRECTION!  Absolutely time to find a new preferred cruise line!

The studios for singles are great and the cost makes the cruise worthwhile.

There is nothing more to say.***************************************************.

The itinerary was wonderful. Most of the crew were also, going above and beyond expectations. The ship, however, was disappointing in that the stateroom was hardly big enough for my roommate and myself. Bed too close to the closet, could not even turn around while beside the bed and closet. The balcony was extremely small. Barely big enough for the two chairs and miniscule table. Our room was not cleaned to our expectations and, believe me, normally my tolerance for dirt is very high. The prices for drinks were exorbitant and the wifi package very expensive (as always). My account was charged for purchases I did not make. The food was very good but why should I have to pay for specialty restaurants when I already paid for an all-inclusive cruise? I was supposed to receive and onboard credit which I never saw. All and all, a very disappointing experience on the Breakaway. I will never, never book a cruise on such a large ship again!!!

I thought the ship was very nice and well maintained.  The staff was courteous and attentive.  We had a great time all week.  I would take this cruise again since it is so convenient to leave from NY, however, I would do it in warmer months so we didn't lose 2 full outside days.  It was too cold to be outside.

My only complaint is that the pool deck is very slippery.  For an area that is constantly wet, there should be more precaution taken for slips.  I fell TWICE on the ship.  Once down the stairs from the slides and another on the pool deck, which resulted in a broken toe.  

It's a beautiful ship and wonderful staff.  We enjoy our cruise and ports visit.

However, the cigarette smoke in casino was too strong that even smokers were complaining about it.  For the health of everyone, NCL should havebetter ventilation in casino area and/or install special air filter to improve the air quality. 

This was my 3rd cruise. I've sailed on Carnival my previous 2. The main beef I have with NCL is that I paid $1100 per person to sail out of NYC in frigid November (never again!) and this cruise line nickel and dimes you for EVERYTHING once on board.

1. Want to go to all 4 shows they have on board? 2 included---2 $30-$50 per person EXTRA! 

2. PAY EXTRA restaurants and snack cafes far out-number the 'free/included' food on board. Even in the main dining rooms they had "extra cost" options on the menu. For example, in the mood for surf n' turf? $25 extra! really???? Ridiculous! The Buffet was great for breakfast and lunch, but dinner was horrible. Dinner buffet was mostly lunch buffet with a couple of stations aligned with their theme for the evening. For example, the one night we went was grill night. Um....they had one super thin strip steak being freshly grilled (which was good) pork chops and dry chicken. They did have a carving of beef with mashed which was also good, but just not what we expected and just not enough choices. In the mood for a late night sundae? O'Sheehans has some yummy desserts.....BUT........EXTRA!!! $4  Want cappuccino, expresso, or a latte after dinner? EXTRA......In the mood for cupcake or latte in the middle of the day? EXTRA!!! SOOOOOO DISAPPOINTING!!! I refused to give this ship any extra money for stuff that should have been included! I had a party of 5.  It adds up, trust me! 

I will say that the food on the ship is it's ONLY redeeming quality! It was very good. But I did not like that there was too much that you had to pay extra for. (As if my $1100 wasn't enough for them?)

3. Want to go on a shore excursion? Make sure you don't wait until the first day on board because you will be out of luck!  We were a large party and wanted to see what everyone else was doing before we booked. I was assured by NCL that excursions would be available to be booked once onboard which we tried right away to no avail and were stuck on board in Florida!

4. Activities at O'Sheehans on board, basketball, air hockey, pool, 2 lanes candle pin for kids among a few others.....you guessed it.....EXTRA!!!!!!! A swipe of your card $2 each time per person for a game. REALLY????

The people on board were great and service was wonderful! Our cabin was adequate but when I traveled on Carnival, the rooms were a little bigger and it does make a difference. I would not recommend traveling out of NYC this time of year as you are relegated to the inside of the ship for nearly 4 days out of 7 due to the frigid temps & wind. The seas were also incredibly rough which made a lot of passengers green around the gills and it made walking around without looking drunk, challenging. (But that's not the cruise line's fault. Just a generalized, buyer be aware).

I guess that wraps up my opinion. I hope it is helpful. I will either go back on Carnival or try another line, but won't be back on NCL again.

The best part of this cruise was being with my family.  We were not impressed with anything we experienced during this cruise.  The room and food was satisfactory but nothing to brag about.  There was not much entertainment on this cruise compared to other cruises we have been on.  The same lame couple singing oldies duets and some guy playing the piano.  The entertainment was set up in the main area of the ship (in the same proximity as the customer service desk).  The seating was poor and sparse.  When we did have to speak to someone at the customer service desk about our excursion, the gal was RUDE and condescending.  We had difficulty hearing any of the staff at the service desk area because the music was so loud (again... the duo singing oldies).  We commented several times that it was a very poor set-up on this ship.  The bartenders were aweful.  They made it obvious that they were not happy to be serving anyone and took forever to make a drink.   Several of the other cruisers complained to us as we were waiting for our drinks.  One gal said, "I'm a bartender and I've never seen anyone take so long to pour a beer".  We didn't get to experience EITHER of our excursions (one was cancelled due to weather and one was missed because the time was changed WITHOUT US KNOWING.  I had scheduled a 1 pm catamaran cruise with snorkeling and rum punch.  They changed it to 9 am.  Who drinks run punch at 9 am (AM????).  I had paid the insurance for this excursion and still was denied a refund because apparently an e-mail had been sent to our home DAYS BEFORE THE CRUISE.   We were busy preparing for the cruise, not checking our e-mails.  

Very disappointed with many aspects of this cruise.  It is especially upsetting that you have staff working who are either not into providing service or, worse, are RUDE to people who pay their hard earned money for a cruise.  

The breakaway is a beautiful Cruise ship  my only problem on this trip was that we had a handicap room and my husband and I having sleeping problems. We both wear a CPAP machine.   I didn't like the fact that they have a handicap room next to a regular instate room and there was 2 to 3 kids in that room   the jumping and screaming and slamming doors. was driving me crazy.   also across the hall was a room for staff to clean items or storage. what ever it was for.  all we heard was banging and dragging.   it was just too noisy. but,  I know it's part of being on a cruise   

That's it   have a nice day  

I really enjoyed all the things to do and eat while on the ship.  This was my first cruise so I did not have the knowledge of everything going on as repeat cruisers did.  Communication on events could have been clearer as to what the event entailed. Unfortunately I got very sick towards the end of trip and there was no relief I sight so I missed a day and half of my trip and missed events I had paid for previously so I had to lose both my money and the show, not happy about that.

one of our favorite things to do is snorkel at Great Stirup Cay.  A few days before departure we received notice that we would not be stopping at the Cay.  We immediately called and tried to change our departure date, but they refused our request.  We found the ship to be over crowded and very noisy.  The atrium was the focus of many activities and the very uncomfortable seating was always full.  The specialty restaurants were excellent and the service was great.  This ship is not recommended for seniors or folks with disabilities.